Porcupine Mountain Wilderness State Park

The Porcupine Mountain Wilderness State Park is located in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan on Lake Superior, 15 miles west of Ontonagon. This park is pretty large at approximately 60,000 acres, 21 miles of Lake Superior shoreline, 21 miles of mountain biking, and over 87 miles of backpacking/hiking trails. There is a nice visitor center/shop that has many educational displays, rangers to help plan your day, and a store in case you need a souvenir or good hiking shoes. 

Seeing as we only planned on spending the day, we started on the western end of the park at Presque Isle. We did hiking along the West River Trail and the East River Trail to view the three different waterfalls on the Presque Isle River before it enters Lake Superior. The three water falls are Manabezho Falls, Nawadaha, and Manido. After crossing the bridge over the the river, there is a small loop trail that brings hikers to the Lake Superior shoreline as well. The shoreline in this small cover is a resting place for many old, washed up trees and home to agates if you are lucky enough to find some.

 

The flora and fauna are similar to Wisconsin, however there are some big differences. Thimbleberries, one of my favorite things to look for in July, are everywhere in the Porkies! These thumb sized berries are quite delicate and can be easily brushed off the plants when ripe. They taste like a raspberry but are more tart. There are stands of virgin forest here also, never been logged. There are only few places that remain virgin forest in the Midwest. The park also notifies its visitors that black bears are fairly common in the Porkies, however I have yet to see one. 

The Summit Peak Observation Tower is a worthwhile stop, I have climbed it twice. On a clear day you can see much of the Apostle Islands, the Keweenaw Peninsula, and Lake Superior! It is a 40 foot observation tower at the highest point in the park at 1,958 ft. 

A must see stop is Lake of the Clouds. The road will lead you right to the short wooden trail that will take you out of the forest and to several look out platforms. You can see the tall ski jump of Copper Peak, Lake Superior, and a myriad of trees! It is an amazing sight!

Note! This is a fee area! Vehicle permit required for entering the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park – A Michigan Recreation Passport is $11 for MI residents, $5 for a resident motorcycle pass, $30.50 for a non-resident annual pass and $8.40 for a non-resident one-day pass. For more information, visit www.michigan.gov/recreationpassport.